How Kirsten Gillibrand changed her political stripes

posted at 8:31 am on October 26, 2013 by Jazz Shaw

It’s a name you might not have heard very much of unless you live here in New York… yet. But a lot of people have been not too quietly talking about the higher political aspirations of New York’s junior Senator, Kirsten Gillibrand. There’s been buzz about her as a possible Vice Presidential nominee or cabinet pick, and some of the more rabid fans already want to draft her to skip over Hillary (whose seat she inherited) and run for the brass ring in 2016. She gets frequent face time on the cable news shows – no small feat when you work with Chuck Schumer, trust me – and is one of the Democrats’ fundraising stars despite her very junior status.

It’s not hard to understand, at least for Democrats. With a background as a litigator, a face made for TV, two terms in the House and a few years in the Senate it’s not a bad resume. But if she gets too ambitious, voters will be reminded that Senator Gillibrand has a lot of history out there waiting to be explored. There’s a very lengthy piece this week at National Journal (yes… yes.. I know, but bear with me) which should be a must read for watchers of national politics.

They delve into her long history which is much more colorful than the generic, thumbnail, perfect candidate resume I briefly listed above. First of all, during her time as an attorney, she worked for a prominent New York City firm and her top money earning clients were not exactly popular among her party faithful.

Gillibrand’s tenure at Davis Polk is best known for her work as a defense attorney for Tobacco company Philip Morris during major litigation, including both civil lawsuits and U.S. Justice Department criminal and civil racketeering probes. She became a senior associate while working on Philip Morris litigation. Gillibrand’s campaign finance records show that she received $23,200 in contributions from the company employees during her 2006 campaign for Congress. In her 2008 campaign she accepted $18,200 from company employees, putting her among the top dozen Democrats in such contributions.

It’s true that Gillibrand was twice elected to the House after she decided to ditch the law game for a life in politics, but it wasn’t a path built on establishing firm liberal credentials. She ran in the NY 20th, which is a district which was carved out in one of the famous Albany gerrymandering deals as a token for the Republicans.She was riding the wave of Democratic resurgence in 2006 and Barack Obama’s coattails in 2008, but she still had to run fairly hard to the right to take that particular seat.

Gillibrand is good at having it both ways, and not just when she’s splitting the difference between looking healthy and authentic at Beef Day. This upstate native who once bragged about keeping shotguns under her bed also raises more money from the financial sector than any of her Senate colleagues (her haul included $89,700 from Goldman Sachs last cycle, the most among current members of Congress). Self-adorned with the humble goal of giving a “voice to the voiceless,” she spent 15 years representing, among other clients, Philip Morris. Once the proud owner of an A rating from the National Rifle Association, Gillibrand watched her grade plummet to an F after she was appointed to the Senate…

She talked a good game in her house races, tough on supporting gun rights, tough on immigration and a number of other subjects. She even proudly joined the Blue Dog Coalition. But when Hillary was anointed to the State Department, NY’s Governor David Paterson (briefly filling in for Client Number Nine) appointed her to the Senate. Then the worm turned. Able to run as a full bore liberal in a statewide election, she quickly put on an entirely new face.

In 2009, two days before Gillibrand was sworn in to the Senate as Hillary Clinton’s successor, the 100-year-old Spanish-language newspaper, El Diario, splashed her picture across their cover with the headline: “Anti Inmigrante.” The piece quoted Peter Rivera, an Assembly member and now New York’s commissioner of labor, as saying her “hard-line stance” of opposing amnesty for undocumented immigrants “borders on xenophobia.” At the same time, a slew of House members, such as Reps. Carolyn Maloney and Carolyn McCarthy, threatened to run against her in 2010 because of her conservative record on guns.

But none of that mattered. Read the rest of the article to see how her A rating with the NRA crashed to an F in what may be record time. She was suddenly in love with all the things she professed to despise and the public ate it up with a spoon. National Journal’s own “rankings” of members of Congress probably tells this story the best.

National Journal’s vote ratings help tell the story of Gillibrand’s political journey. In 2007, after her first year in Congress, NJ ranked her as the 185th most liberal member of the House. By 2010, one year into her Senate tenure, she had become Schumer’s ideological twin, tied with him as the 10th most liberal member of the chamber. The following year, she sat atop those rankings, along with Oregon’s Jeff Merkley.

Kirsten Gillibrand is a machine politician with ideological purity which is a mile wide and an inch deep. A perfect mold for whatever you want her to be, as long as she wins the next race. So if her name bubbles closer to the top in the next couple years, keep all of this in your back pocket.

Blowback

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This radical’s phoney campaign was remarkable in its dishonesty even by Democrat standards. She’s entirely fake and there’s nothing she won’t do to get ahead in the Party. A true rising star. Hillary’s mini-me.

Let her serve as governor of NY for experience, she is a propped up lightweight. She is the granddaughter of an Albany political machine, not unlike the Kennedy’s in MA. Kirstin Gillibrand’s grandmother (Polly Noonan) was the mistress of Mayor Corning, a corrupt machine democrat, and on her other side her family were republican politicians. Kirstin Gillibrand even resembles Corning, in my opinion, you can look them up and make your own conclusion.

There is a reason you rarely see her on television or hear her on radio talk shows. She does not sound statesman-like. She quite frankly sounds like a 12 year old girl – a high squeaky voice, with a very emotional rapid delivery.

You can read about KG background here, and see images of her and Erastus Corning on Google images. I just wanted to prop up my post with a few facts. We elderly spout out whatever comes off the top of our head and might be called out of our head for remembering things that have been whitewashed and unmentionable in the past.

So if her name bubbles closer to the top in the next couple years, keep all of this in your back pocket.

For what? If she is the chosen Democratic candidate, the media will fall in line and adore her. Jeez, what makes you people think anything different. If past histories made any difference…well, you know the rest.

,,,I was thinking more New York’s Wendy Davis — a good looking blonde, especially for a Democratic pol, but one who won her original seat pretending to be a moderate, who then jumped at the chance to let her liberal freak flag fly and become a beloved political figure by the big media when the moment was right (though Kirsten waiting until after she had been appointed to be Schumer’s second vote in the Senate — Wendy became the liberal sweetheart before she had her next job secured, and now those on the left in Texas are desperately creating fantasy baseball scenarios where she somehow beats Greg Abbott for governor next year).

We elderly spout out whatever comes off the top of our head and might be called out of our head for remembering things that have been whitewashed and unmentionable in the past.

Fleuries on October 26, 2013 at 9:10 AM

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Kirstin Gillibrand even resembles Corning, in my opinion, you can look them up and make your own conclusion.

Fleuries on October 26, 2013 at 9:03 AM

True product of the machine

She quite frankly sounds like a 12 year old girl – a high squeaky voice, with a very emotional rapid delivery.
diogenes on October 26, 2013 at 9:07 AM

Pelosi, Feinstein, Boxer …. When Hillary tries to play FDR, she screeches like a banshee. I do believe the fingernail on the blackboard sounds are reassuring to the ones behind the scenes. In politics a reliable idiot is better than a useful idiot

HDFOB on October 26, 2013 at 9:31 AM

A tough call. Anyone who resists the easily stoked mob will be hung to dry. May never know if the move was pragmatic acknowledgment the unfairness was going to happen anyway, or if they really buy it. On this, I suspect Rand is more likely a believer – but you never know. Rand has played pragmatist from the beginning – see McConnell

I remember back in the 2010 special election Dick Morris was running around saying every chance he got that having her past exposed to the public would doom Gillibrand’s political career.

I didn’t think so then, and I certainly don’t think so now, especially after her 2012 reelection with 72% of the vote.

steebo77 on October 26, 2013 at 10:48 AM

Two words: Elizabeth. Warren.

There is no past, no level of corruption, no depth of criminality, no lie too big, no bribe too small which can “finish” a democrat candidate. It’s all part of the resume. Being a venal scumbag is precisely what democrat voters — most of whom are engaged themselves in criminal activity fleecing the government welfare/disability/etc. purse — look for. Birds of a feather and all of that.

For those of you who value well functioning military, this bill is AWFUL.

But some Cruz worshipers are cool with him undermining the military to brandish his bipart cred. Not me.

I HATE Obamacare, I love my nation’s military more.

In the Hobbs-ion world of bad choices, I will back a strong military.

HDFOB on October 26, 2013 at 10:48 AM

I don’t see the awfulness or how it disables or weakens a functioning military and its chain of command. It concerns and is confined to conflict of interest in sexual assault cases, which has proved to be a problem. Sexual assault within any military is grotesque and intolerable — a greater threat to a “strong military” than removing line officers from its adjudication especially if these cases have a history of been compromised.

Wrong. Good Order & Discipline in the military requires proper respect for the role of Commanders and Command. When there are conflicts of interest involved in the prosecution of ANY crime, the UCMJ already provides accommodations.

Putting sexual assaults in some magical different category is yet another effort by the Obama/Hagel regime to undermine the effectiveness in a unified chain-of-command. It weakens the military. The recent waive of news stories about sexual assault in the military is about pushing a false narrative by liberals that military service turns men into monsters.

The only ones that could like the Cruz/Gillibrand bill are lawyers. Oh…look what Ted Cruz’ profession is. Mmmm…..

If she wants to win the Dem nomination for more money and power, she’ll run hard left.

If she wins, to keep her money and power, she’ll talk center in public, but govern hard left.

That explains 99% of Democrats.

Republican politicians want money and power too, but their route is to talk right and govern center-left. The difference being, they can’t stand the negative press from the right talk, so they try to appease by governing as the press would like. That’s why we get so many loser, weak Republicans.

It’s not a “magical” separate category — it’s a discrete and concrete change in order to address a serious problem. The military has proved inadequate to the task, so it is in fact weakening itself in its current disposition.

The Leftist narrative that the military turns men into monsters has been around forever. I’m not sure how changing the approach and venue of sexual assault prosecutions feeds it. Preserving failed status quo may be be worse. Has it ruined or compromised chain of command in the Israeli military?

I don’t like that Cruz is co-sponsoring anything with Gillibrand either, but I wouldn’t generalize it into shamefulness.

There is no “failed status quo.” Sexual assault rates in the military are lower than the general public. The news stories by the liberal media are an attempt to create a false controversy in order to fundamentally transform the military. There is no need to break apart the chain-of-command.

The few places where there are problems could be easily fixed by recognizing human nature and not putting women in close-quarters units (Infantry, Small ships) where they don’t belong.

I read it. It’s not an analysis of the problem but an emotional expostulation by Allen West. West says nothing to suggest he understands any of the issues or myths examined in the piece I linked or how to address them.

You seem to have an animus toward Cruz.

There is a problem here. The military’s failure to deal with it has led to this current political solution. The military should have a higher standard for honorable conduct than the citizen population. If they can’t correct, or correctly adjudicate, this problem, it is only reasonable to expect an alternative solution.

I still fail to see its “awfulness” or how or why Cruz or Rand Paul should be pilloried for supporting it.

Voters and Investigative Reporters may also want to explore Kirsten Gillibrand’s connections to the development of the subprime mortgage loan crisis.

When that wacky wrecking crew of the Clinton administration, Chris Dodd in the Senate, Barney Frank in the House, and Andrew Cuomo as HUD Secretary were smashing the banking system by foisting destructive subprime mortgages on the banks, causing collapses, leading to massive bailouts and triggering financial pain and suffering for millions of Americans, right there in a key supporting role at Cuomo’s side as HUD legal counsel was…Kristen Gillibrand.

Gillibrand was the person whom that gang tasked with promoting “new products” for HUD, a euphemism that means forcing banks to provide subprime mortgages to millions who could not afford them.

You offer more informed perspectives here. The first link doesn’t analyze the bill but hashes out the statistical argument, to minimal effect. The second link is more a substantial critique of the bill, but can only speculate about possible consequences. Yes, what may happen is that certain cases are politicized; what may also happen is that superior officers will no longer, with a stroke of a pen, be able to reverse decisions or deny due process to military personnel.

Has anybody read the bill? I attach it — the summary and complete bill. I hacked my through it. I’m not sure I can comment one way or another. It didn’t strike me as horrendous. The main issue it seems to be addressing is the abuse of chain of command prerogative to influence cases either before or after due process.

Kirsten Gillibrand is a machine politician with ideological purity which is a mile wide and an inch deep. A perfect mold for whatever you want her to be, as long as she wins the next race. So if her name bubbles closer to the top in the next couple years, keep all of this in your back pocket.

The so-called sexual assault epidemic is a myth designed to slander the military.
HDFOB on October 26, 2013 at 3:37 PM

correct

I highly resent both Senator Cruz and Senator Paul’s participation in this left-wing effort.

HDFOB on October 26, 2013 at 3:37 PM

Hard not to. However, pretty sure if either had not signed on, they would have been cast as anti-woman. Question, do they believe that Men are really brute beasts who have to be under the heel of the feminist rule book ( the true purpose of this new effort)

This low level Inquisition could be revved into high any time feminists need fresh blood. It can be used right now to slap Men in the military with more insulting sensitivity training and re education even if no law is ever passed.

Looks like someone is trying to weaken tea party names, and the RINOs will sit back and laugh

Obama will ignore the law and stuff soldiers regardless. I share your pain. Reserving judgement for now

Kirsten Gillibrand is a machine politician with ideological purity which is a mile wide and an inch deep. A perfect mold for whatever you want her to be, as long as she wins the next race. So if her name bubbles closer to the top in the next couple years, keep all of this in your back pocket.